TikiTacky. To me the pitcher looks like a plain brown drip glaze pitcher. In the photo it looks like the classic drip glaze pattern. Wish we had a clearer image to narrow the search.
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"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

I did a search on here but couldn't find anything. I'll give Sven some time to chime in, then I'll pester him.

I've started getting more serious about collecting early DTB and TV materials, as my funds will allow. DTB is easy, as there just isn't that much out there, but there's so much TV stuff it's hard to stay focused.

So, I picked up the three volume encyclopedia on Imperial Glass from my local library and was using it to look up details on stuff for Ooga Mooga, when I ran across this design for an Aloha Tumbler with dancing hula girls and palm trees:

I lifted the pic from online. It's carnival glass and came in a couple of colors and is apparently very rare. I was wondering if anyone actually has one of these in their collection or if it had been used at any restaurants. If there are any other details, I will add them to the template.

Just got (through the technological marketplace) two pseudo Crypto mugs. Worth listing in this thread I thought.

The first is the Mauna Loa Mexico head hunter mug to serve the Guerrero Fiji.

I also have a more common newer version but I’ve never seen an older all white version.

It seems that these older Mauna Loa Mexico mugs (with the hand painted name on the bottom) have quite a bit a variety to them. They might even all be unique. I’ve seem multiple “Suzy Wong” versions as well with different paint schemes.

The 2nd mug here is from Judge’s Beyond the Reef.

A rather odd and seemingly rare “Tiki” mug. Now this has been discovered before…

but here is a second one with similar markings and it came with a matchbook from Beyond the Reef. So at least this does help confirm this as the Beyond the Reef Tiki mug. According to the menu the Sneaky Tiki was served in a “hand designed ceramic Tiki for you to Keep to Remember the Occasion.”

So this seems pretty darn cool. Personally I have never seen this one before and can’t find any other examples of it. The Mai Kai “Barrel O Rum” Mug.

Quite a bit different than the more common dark brown Mai Kai barrel mugs which only have the Mai Kai name on it. This one actually matches the “Barrel O’ Rum” mug depicted in the early menus.

This menu from Arkiva Topika is from 1959 which probably also dates the mug. It is surprising how closely the mug actually matches the menu illustration. Also, it seems to match the barrel mugs on the back shelves in this gift shop picture.

I must admit I was rather surprised that I could not find any other samples like this one. Or at least no one else has posted a picture of it.

The mug is the same (copy?) as the Franciscan pottery version of the Don the Beachcomber barrel mug.

The rivets on the bands match perfectly albeit less sharp. However, the grain of the wood is different and sharp. Maybe it’s also made by Franciscan Pottery or someone copied the DTB mug and re-did the lettering and the grain. No markings on the mug so it’s unclear as to who the maker is although it looks professionally made.

Swanky mentioned that “the history of the Mai-Kai is very tangled up with that of Don the Beachcombers.” So is this another example of that?

That barrel is odd in that it is so rare. I have one and I know of maybe 2-3 more out there. Odd because it was used for decades and it says Mai-Kai on it, so if it shows up on Ebay it will be listed as Mai-Kai. I have seen it on Ebay maybe once, and I bought that one.

Calendars show this mug being used up into the 70s at least. See July 1972 for an example. It appears to have started life in 1956 at the Mai-Kai, opening day. This is likely from a DtB source, although the size is much smaller than any DtB barrel mug I have. It also matches the original barrel recipe I have which is fewer ounces than the current one.

There are a few more barrels out there from the Mai-Kai that are more rare, but, no evidence they were actually used. A yellow handled barrel like this one I have and have seen a number of others in collections.

I never looked at this image so closely, but on the bottom shelf is a Mai-Kai item I had not seen documented before just now.
A sort of pedestal bowl that I have seen in one collection and was not sure if it was used. A desert bowl that I see was also in the gift shop now.

Thanks Swanky for all that info. You are thee Mai Kai expert!!! I had no knowledge of this mug and your expertise is very much appreciated. It's rarity does indeed seem odd given that it might have been in production for 15 years.